There is not a part-time trader out there who doesn’t dream of getting to the point where they can throw their day job to the wayside and trade currency from the deck of their pool. This is a legitimate fantasy that few will achieve, and for those that do it will be a hard road to get there. Forex traders should know that when they leave their job likely they will become totally reliant on their trading returns for your everyday living.

Becoming a full-time or professional forex trader is something that almost every trader wants to achieve but only very few ever do. Some people start learning and trading forex while they already have a job and income. They want to generate an extra income to have a better living. Some others have no job and income, and want to make money through forex trading as a full time job.

Discipline, self-control and patience are key factors in forex trading. We all possess different levels of self-discipline when we start trading, but in order to succeed we need to work hard on building it to an immense level. A lot of traders understand how important being disciplined is – but aren’t willing to do anything about it. They become more focused on tweaking their trading strategies, when the real problem lies with their own behaviors.

Patience is the ability to tolerate waiting, delay, or frustration without becoming agitated or upset. It helps you control greedy, selfish and impulsive behaviors which can destroy you very quickly. It’s the ability to be able to control your emotions or impulses and proceed calmly when faced with difficulties; because the truth is forex trading has no shortage of emotionally challenging situations. Most traders put themselves in highly stressful situations like trading with high frequency where patience can run very thin.

It is estimated that out of the hundreds of thousands taking advantage of the currency market to make money, only 5% are able to make a successful full-time profession of it. If you have hopes of becoming part of that 5%, start now by education yourself and working on those great trading habits you are going to need. Only when you have the skills and capital in place it will be possible to pull up a pool chair every morning and be at work.